Sports

Top Rank signs new 7-year contract with ESPN

Top Rank will stay with ESPN through 2025 as part of a new deal between the boxing promotion and the network.

Written BySteven Muehlhausen

Boxing will stay on ESPN for a long time to come.

On Thursday, Top Rank Boxing announced they have agreed to a new seven-year contract with ESPN, which both parties called, "the most comprehensive, exclusive rights agreement in the history of boxing."

The promotional outfit and the worldwide leader in sports television signed a four-year deal last year. The new pact now runs through August 2025 and includes 54 events per year, as well as a full offering of exclusive shoulder programming, classic fights and studio content.

"ESPN is thrilled with this new long-term agreement with Top Rank, which represents the most innovative and comprehensive relationship in the world of boxing today," Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN president and the co-chairman of Disney Media Networks said. "By creating and distributing significantly more Top Rank events and boxing content, ESPN and Top Rank will jointly cultivate upcoming fighters and fights, creating the stars of tomorrow while providing fans with the sport's best content in a more personalized manner."

The 54 shows a year will involve 18 events on ESPN, 12 exclusive prime-time events on ESPN+, 24 premium international events on ESPN+ and undercard coverage of all 54 events on ESPN+.

"This expanded relationship with Top Rank increases the ability of ESPN+ to serve boxing fans better than ever and allows us to continue to build more direct relationships with this incredibly passionate audience," Kevin Mayer said, who oversees ESPN+ as Disney's chairman of direct-to-consumer and international.

Highlights of the first year of the partnership included a series of high-profile cards. It kicked off last July with Jeff Horn's controversial decision win against Manny Pacquiao. The "Battle of Brisbane” averaged 3.1 million viewers and a peak of 4.4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated boxing telecast on cable since 2006 and ESPN's highest-rated boxing telecast since 1995.

ESPN+ also broadcast arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Terence Crawford's knockout victory over Julius Indongo last August to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion, as well as when he moved up to welterweight on June 9 and finished Horn to claim the WBO welterweight title. Also, top-ranked fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko's sixth-round stoppage vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux, in the first boxing match in history to feature a pair of two-time Olympic gold medalists going head to head in December. That card averaged 1.85 million viewers, making it the second most-watched cable boxing telecast of 2017.

“This partnership will continue to bring the biggest events and best fighters from around the world to ESPN networks," Todd duBoef, President of Top Rank, said. "Our collective ability to integrate live events, classic fights, studio shows, and behind-the-scenes features will raise the long-term profile of the sport of boxing and the athletes.”